Ply Interiors

The third-floor loft, with its ceiling of interlocking wood beams, is George’s preferred hangout. “I can stay up there for hours,” he says.

A Ptolomeo vertical bookcase by Bruno Rainaldi stands outside the couple’s bedroom, which features a John-John bed from Poltrona Frau and Awa side tables from B&B Italia. The tatami mats are original to the house, which was designed in 2002 by architect Mikio Tai, who worked with George and Mika on updates.

The couple’s contractor, Tim Schmidt, is an artist whose medium often involves steel fabrication. Tim custom-made the steel window frames and came up with the idea for the steel foundation.

The flat, postage-stamp backyard has a screen porch that extends off the main house. The couple added synthetic grass.

Despite its small footprint, the flexible, multi-purpose space includes bike storage and a niche for storing weights.

Stevie works from a built-in L-shaped desk. The marker board is also a much-used feature.

Despite its small footprint, the flexible, multi-purpose space includes bike storage and a niche for storing weights.

The recessed area in the wooden deck can be used for a fire pit or a vegetable garden.

The design of the house follows the traditional Japanese architectural concept of a hiraya—a single-story home with an engawa-inspired deck.

The Japanese "no-brand" masters of minimalism unveil the first single-story design in their line of prefab homes.

The rear extension uses black Petersen bricks that reflect the materiality of the original building, but with a contemporary twist that gives the volume its own visual identity.

Following the house-within-a-house concept, this playful playhouse-like addition features an all-plywood interior.

Marine plywood dominates the interior and is especially striking in the compact kitchen and its island's geometric design.

The chic contemporary interiors feature concrete floors and plywood paneling, with black accents that echo the cabin’s exterior.

Unpainted plywood wraps all around the living areas to give the interior "a warmth and texture that interacts beautifully with the external Blackbutt timber," says Jackson. "It has a robust , durable, and tactile quality that sits well with the internal concrete floors."

This archetypal Swedish building form, shaped like a Monopoly house, serves as an artist’s studio, with a simple plywood interior and massive skylights to let in natural sunlight.

Inspired by Scandinavian and Japanese aesthetics, the modern Orchid tiny house features an interior clad in three-quarter-inch maple plywood.